Mark Best, from Marque, gave a Masterclass as part of the Gourmet Traveller Institute, on cooking seafood. Marque was recently selected by the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide as being the best restaurant for 2011.
The Masterclass was held at Harvey Norman in Alexandria.
On arrival we we were served our choice of wines, including sparkling wine, which kept on being topped up. I was glad I was not driving. 😉
First, Mark cooked a clam chowder. Not just any clam chowder. The clams were huge, and whole. The soup was light and full of flavour. I’d be happy just to have that. Nestling in the soup were tiny cucumber balls, which added a surprising texture to the soup. On top was sprinkled fried curry leaves.
The serves were generous. We found out later that canapes had been served at the beginning, which we missed, with going to Din Tai Fung and the traffic from there to Alexandria. I loved the dumplings there, so I don’t think we missed anything,
Then Mark cooked blue-eyed cod with a scampi anglaise.
On top were the finest of potato crisps (sliced paper thin, and cooked between two trays in the oven), and crispy button mushrooms.
The fish was cooked sous vide, and the anglaise prepared in a Thermomix, all technical procedures, and out of the range of the average home cook, but still interesting to see being done.
That, too, was very tasty.
As we were leaving the Masterclass we were give a Gourmet Traveller goodie bag, with the latest magazine, some chocolate truffles, and a small ice-cream tub for dessert.
The evening was interesting, almost more entertainment than a cooking class. I still enjoyed being there, watching the cooking, hearing Mark Best talk, and tasting the two dishes.
I thought we could get the recipes on the Gourmet Traveller site, but it’s hard enough to find any information about the Gourmet Traveller Institute, let alone the recipes. Certainly nothing on the Gourmet Traveller site, even after extensive searching. That’s a wasted opportunity. Still I guess they’re getting their promotion here!
Details
Here are the details about Marque and the Gourmet Traveler Institute at Harvey Norman. There are more details in the latest issue of the magazine.
| Web site | Marque Restaurant Harvey Norman Masterclasses |
Have you been to another Masterclass like this? What did you think of it?
Eat. Travel. Bliss. 
Wow! I wish I’d been there! Was this in Alexandria VA? Call me up next time & I’ll go to:-) That clam chowder looks amaze! Love your site!! xo
Juliane of http://www.StyleNectar.com
Hi Juliane! This was Alexandria in NSW, Australia, sorry! 🙂 Thanks for the link to your site – love your combination of artwork and food.
Scampi anglaise sounds like a dream…!
It was delightfully light and flavourful, Tina.
Hello Andrea – what a brilliant post of this great event. I’m the person in the brown shirt to the right of Mark. We (PLATED) catered the pre-canapes so i thought I’d just let you in on what was missed out on (see below). PLATED do all the pre canapes all the Masterclass. It’s such a great night out!
Tomato tart tatin with baby basil leaves and marinated feta
Pea, mint and basil arancini with aioli
Balsamic glazed fig with prosciutto and dolce latte gorgonzola
Hot smoked trout on toasted brioche with horseradish cream and Avruga caviar
Cauliflower and thyme soup with bacon threads and sippets
Wagyu beef carpaccio with crushed artichokes and parmesan on croute
Hi Savva! Isn’t that amazing that you’re there in the photo. We did miss out on something special with the canapes. They do sound gorgeous! Hopefully another time…